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Climate Change Impacts on Healthcare: Physicians Predict Worsening Health Inequities and Systemic Challenges

Climate change poses significant threats to global health, with far-reaching consequences for healthcare systems worldwide. Physicians predict that the climate crisis will exacerbate existing health inequities, increase food insecurity, elevate rates of non-communicable diseases, and disrupt healthcare delivery. These challenges reinforce the urgent need for healthcare stakeholders to address the adverse effects of climate change on public health.

Key Points:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change will cause an additional 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress alone.
• Direct damage costs to health due to climate change are estimated to be between $2 to $4 billion per year by 2030.
• Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including women, children, older adults, people with disabilities or chronic health conditions, and those living in poverty.
• Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and floods, increase the risk of harm, negative health outcomes, and mental health challenges, particularly for women and children.
• Heat waves are more likely to affect people with multiple chronic conditions and cardiovascular diseases, especially those in disadvantaged neighborhoods with limited access to outdoor green spaces and air conditioning.
• Climate change is expected to worsen global food insecurity, with approximately 735 million people experiencing hunger in 2022—an increase of 122 million since 2019.
• Rising temperatures and flooding are predicted to disrupt food production and water availability, leading to higher rates of food insecurity, malnutrition, disease, and displacement.
• Climate change events like heat waves and air pollution contribute to the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and mental health disorders.
• Air pollution exacerbates non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as asthma, cancer, and diabetes.
• Recent wildfires in California have dramatically impacted air quality, leading to an increase in respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD.
• Climate-related crises can result in psychological hardship, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly in children.
• The climate crisis is expected to compound existing healthcare worker shortages and burnout issues.
• Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting disease patterns are taking a toll on healthcare workers, who are often not equipped or trained to address the health implications of a warming planet.
• Climate change is driving a surge in patient numbers, overwhelming an already short-staffed healthcare system.
• Virginia alone experiences about 4,600 additional emergency room visits and 2,000 hospitalizations each year due to heat-related illnesses.
• Extreme weather events have damaged health infrastructure and disrupted healthcare delivery in various regions globally.
• The health industry itself is responsible for nearly 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting the need for the sector to reduce its contribution to the climate crisis.

“Climate change disproportionately affects those already vulnerable to health challenges: poor communities, newborns and children, women, ethnic minorities, migrants and displaced people, older populations, Indigenous Peoples, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions.”
– Uche Ralph-Opara, MD, MPH, MBA, Chief Health Officer for Project HOPE

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